realsid08/p3stack/how

How

Explore the codebase to answer "how does X work?" questions. Produce architectural explanations at the level of a senior engineer onboarding onto a subsystem, enough to build a working mental model, not so much that it reads like annotated source code.

Every spawn is a read-only delegate_task call (isolation: shared, role: research, and a brief that forbids edits), per ../poteto-mode/references/t3-runtime.md. Explorers use the how explorer role line, and every explainer uses the how explainer role line. Build target from the configured line, or from the default in ../poteto-mode/references/models.md when no line exists. Leave target unset for inherit-parent. If delegate_task rejects a target, use the default and say so. If it rejects the default, run that role on inherit-parent and say so. Pick each subagent's reasoning level and fast or standard speed for the job, per the Subagents section of the poteto-mode skill.

1. Assess complexity

If the scope is ambiguous, state your interpretation and explore. The user can redirect.

• Simple (a single module, a small utility, a narrow question such as "how does function X work"): no explorers. Spawn one explainer that explores and explains in one pass, built from references/explainer-prompt.md without the explorer-findings section. Go to step 4.
• Complex (a subsystem spanning multiple files or services, a cross-cutting feature, a full architectural overview): go to step 2.

When in doubt, take the simple path.

2. Explore (complex only)

Decompose the question into 2 to 4 angles, each a distinct slice of the subsystem. Spawn all explorers in a single message, each with references/explorer-prompt.md and its angle filled in.

3. Synthesize (complex only)

Once all explorers have returned, spawn one explainer with references/explainer-prompt.md and every explorer's findings filled in.

4. Present

Present the explainer's output. Light edits for clarity or context from the conversation are fine. Do not substantially rewrite it.

Output format

The explanation uses the sections defined in references/explainer-prompt.md, dropping any that do not apply: Overview, Key Concepts, How It Works, Where Things Live, Gotchas.